Is it better to go when there is free dining OR get 30% off your room?

[mymeme]

I understand that the actual amount saved will differ with each family but we had FD on our last trip and dh thinks it was the best deal EVER I really want to go back in 2013 so the FD would be great selling point to him! I just hope it will be available for when we can go.

meme

 

[Fly4free]

Personally I think a room discount is a better value. The only one in our family that eats enough to make free dining worth while is DH and he shouldn't really eat that much .

For my family I like the room discount. When it's so hot I can't eat that much. I also don't like to waste too much time on ts meals when we are in the parks.

 

[pigletto]

For our family of four free dining usually won out at a mod. But then we decided we wanted to rent points and stay at some of the deluxe properties. When we did that we tried to time it with a Y.E.S. class. Our tickets ended up being much cheaper that way. We added the ddp onto the point rental and voila.. it was the same price as free dining at a mod.
This time we're traveling with dd's friend so we have a 5th person. We were booked with free quick service at AoA and were upgrading to the regular ddp.
However we're AP holders now, and didn't need the 2 day tickets so we were saving them for "later".
Just this weekend we found a great deal for the Yacht Club through an agency, can use the tickets we had to get for the promo for dd's friend (which means we won't have to upgrade a base ticket or buy dd's friend a separate ticket.)
It worked out 1400 cheaper than our plan at AoA
I am sure we can eat for the week for 1400 or less with our Tables in Wonderland. So Yacht Club it is.

As you can see, there are many different scenarios in which the free ddp isn't the best discount. You really have to run the numbers on every possible discount.

 

[PrincessShea]

As many others have already said, it depends on your family. I really just think it's a question of how much you eat.

I have never, and will never get the dining plan. I usually bring a box of granola bars and fruit snacks to eat during the day, and then pay OOP for either a TS or CS meal each day.

I sometimes get an appetizer as my entree, so the DP would not cover that. I never drink pop, so that's another DP "waste". I only drink water or alcohol with my dinner. I also wouldn't always want dessert...more DP waste. I just know for me, I come out ahead paying OOP and would just overeat and get stuff I would have never paid for on the DP.

 

[hops&dreams]

I agree with others who have posted before me, but I can tell you about my experience...

We go in winter, when crowds are low and weather is iffy. We're willing to take that trade-off for low crowds (and I mean, walk right onto every ride... our first trip there were NO lines whatsoever!!!)

Anyhoo.... if you get a good CS rep when you call, they will take the time to go through the numbers with you. For our first trip, there was 40% off the room, or free dining. We ended up taking the 40% off and paying for the same dining plan that was offered for free. It ended up being cheaper by about $200 over the 1 week vacation.
For our 2nd trip, there was 30% off or free dining, but FD was only applicable if we arrived on certain days. So we had to arrive on a Thurs to take advantage of it, rather than our normal arrival day of Fri. In the end, with flights and whatnot (we were fighting Superbowl crowds in our hometown), the discounts and such made it worth it to arrive at WDW on Thurs, and take advantage of the FD. 30% off would have worked better if we were doing Fri to Fri, but we ended up doing Thurs to Sat (with a week in between).

If you don't get FD, will you still purchase the dining plan? We did because we liked the mindlessness of it when we were on vacation. We were also ok with being leisurely tourers, especially after we got there and saw the lack of crowds. For us, getting the DP was a no brainer, and that made it easier for us to account for the cost, since it was a set price.

If you book now under one discount, and a different discount comes out later, you can always call and have them run the numbers (I did this many times!). If the discount comes out better with the new one, they can modify or re-book your reservation to accomodate the better discount for you. If you do it this way, at least you know that your vacation is already booked, and you have a room "reserved" for you already, kwim? At least you'll already have something booked, and if something better comes along, you can make alterations to your existing reservation.

I hope that helped.

 

[mommyof3princess27]

Next time we go after our Nov trip, we will have 4 adults(2 'disney adults' ) and 1 child. FDing for us would be the better deal for sure. This trip with 2 kids (my mom is paying for DD because we are staying in a RGR and its here bday trip) we are saving $989 with FDing and the room discount would have been about $400 for 7 nights

 

[disneymom2003]

Yes, this exactly. For us, the 30% discount at the delux resorts ends up being $1000 in room savings over our 8 nights. For our family of 3 (one child) free dining doesn't ever work out to be a better deal.

I was going to say the same thing. We like to stay at Deluxe resorts so the room discount worked out to be more for us.

 

[AJ1983]

As pretty much every PP has said, it really depends on where you are staying and your family's eating and touring habits.

My bf and I will be going to Orlando in May, and if we were offered choice of free dining or 30% off rooms, we'd take the room discount. We will be staying value, so we would save about $175 on the room (using 2012 rack rates), whereas the free dining is value at approximately $100/day, or $500 total. So on paper, the FD looks better, but I know it would not be valuable for us.

First, we plan on doing two days at US/IOA, so that;s two days where we would be eating offsite for a large portion of the day. Also, we only have 3 days to do Disney parks (including arrival day, where we won't get to a park until about 3 pm), so I don't want to spend precious time sat in a restaurant waiting for food that I'm too hot/not hungry enough to eat but I made the ADR 6 months ago so we have to go, sort of thing haha. Also, I know my bf will want to take afternoon breaks from the park, so we would prefer to have that time to relax by the pool and grab a quick CS meal at the hotel prior to heading back to the park. Finally, we just don't eat alot in one sitting, we are content to graze or snack throughout the day, so I plan on ordering from garden Grocer so we will have stuff for in room breakfasts, and park snacks that can take the place of a CS lunch (PB & J sandwiches, fruit).

We are going on a cruise when we leave Orlando and will get to eat PLENTY of delicious food there, so we aren't too concerned about eating lighter/cheaper in the parks because its how we eat anyway. As I said, both of us tend to lose our appetite a bit while on vacation, especially if its hot (we're from eastern Canada, Florida in May is hot for us!), so a dining plan all in all would really be a waste, and actually more of a hassle, for us.

 

[clintswifeymomof4]

Here is my two cents.

If this is your first Disney trip, go with the Free Dining. We just took our 5 young kids in February and stayed at the Cabins with Free Dining. I was diligent about making the ADRs and printed up the options for snack credit use that is itemized per restaurant per park (I found on this site). It was a huge stress relief during my first trip to the park to know that I didn't have to crunch numbers and that "everything was taken care of," except tip mind you.

However, it was a TON of food and way more than my family would ever eat. Also, we found ourselves limited by the quick service options and less than healthy choices offered there. We ate it, but it wasn't very enjoyable if that makes sense. However, the character meals we did were awesome and worth it during our first magical trip. I would NEVER pay oop for Cinderella's Castle... two TS credits, sure.

We have rented DVC points and that savings will go to pay for our food oop. Now that I'm not wet behind the ears and we have planned two upcoming trips for next year, we won't be doing free dining. I feel I have the tools and the know how now to make my way around the park and not spend extravagantly oop on food. We may do a character meal (not sure yet, have some time to decide)... but breakfasts will most likely be in the room, lunches will be picked up a la carte here and there depending on what we're in the mood for (fries here, an egg roll there, turkey leg?), and dinner will be off site, an ADR, at our resort, or DTD... I'm going for the more flexible vibe now that I feel I know my way around the park and the system.